Italian PM Berlusconi goes back on trial on corruption charg

Italian PM's fraud trial resumes
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has gone back on trial on corruption charges after an immunity law was rejected earlier this year.
He is accused of trying to bribe judges to influence a business deal.
Hearings began in Milan in front of a new panel of judges, which is expected to take two months to wade through evidence collected over three years.

The charges are the most serious Mr Berlusconi has faced in nearly 10 years of investigations.

Mr Berlusconi's lawyer, Nicolo Gheddini, told the BBC he hoped the trial would be "wrapped up as soon as possible".

"Seeing as the verdict will be positive, we're really not afraid," he said.

"Although obviously to have a prime minister on trial is never a positive thing," he added.

Colleague cleared

Prosecutors allege Mr Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, tried to scupper the takeover of state-owned food group SME by a rival firm in the 1980s, before he entered politics.
The prime minister firmly denies any wrongdoing in the case and says left-wing magistrates are trying to undermine him.

His trial was blocked in June last year after parliament passed government-backed legislation granting the prime minister and other top office holders immunity from prosecution.

Critics accused the government of introducing the immunity bill to save Mr Berlusconi from the embarrassing possibility of a conviction while Italy was chairing the presidency of the European Union.

Mr Berlusconi had already attended court in Milan to give evidence in his defence.

The prime minister's trial was halted, but proceedings continued for other defendants in the same case.

A close associate of the premier, Cesare Previti, was cleared of charges of bribery, but received a five-year sentence for putting cash in the pocket of a Rome judge to maintain friendly relations.

He is now appealing against this verdict.

In January, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law violated Italy's constitution.

Competing issues

The re-start of the trial is now another headache for the Berlusconi government.

It seems the verdict could fall at the most inauspicious time, coinciding with European elections in June.

Mr Berlusconi's supporters think this is no coincidence.

"The purpose of this trial is to damage the prime minister before the elections begin," said Senator Lucio Malan from the prime minister's Forza Italia party.

"But this trial is an opportunity for us to sort this out... I'm not worried."

Mr Berlusconi's ruling centre-right coalition, already dogged by bitter infighting, has been further strained by the Parmalat scandal and a struggling economy.

The premier now finds himself under attack for failing to deliver on election promises and for his continued support for the war in Iraq in face of anti-war domestic opinion.

But there is a question mark over how damaging the trial will prove for the Italian premier.

To see politicians, even the prime minister, on trial is nothing new for Italians and many analysts suggest that, in the light of the current hostage crisis in Iraq, the Italian people have other things on their minds right now.